Stephen Hawking: We might have 1,000 years left on Earth

Science celebrity Stephen Hawking says the only way humankind can escape mass extinction is to find another planet.

Author:
KHOU Staff

Published:
9:29 AM CST November 17, 2016

Updated:
9:29 AM CST November 17, 2016

Science celebrity Stephen Hawking says the only way humankind can escape mass extinction is to find another planet.

And the clock is ticking.

During a speech Tuesday at Britain’s Oxford University Union, Hawking detailed the history of man’s understanding of the universe and reiterated that the future of humankind lies in space, the Daily Express reported.

“We must also continue to go into space for the future of humanity,” he said. “I don’t think we will survive another 1000 without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”

This isn’t the first time the theoretical physicist has suggested that humankind must leave Earth in order to survive.

In January, during a BBC Reith lecture, Hawking said humankind is inching closer to demise, and it’s our fault.

He said it’s inevitable that a disaster, possibly of our making, will strike the planet.

"By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race,” he said during the BBC lecture.